Reform Nigel Farage in the UK to resign as an MP and seek re-election to clear his name of wrongdoing.

LONDON (AP) — Nigel Farage, leader of Britain’s Reform Party, announced Tuesday that he will resign from parliament and run for re-election to clear his name on financial charges related to donations worth millions of dollars.

The unexpected resignation is an effort by an anti-immigrant politician to preempt a baseline investigation that could result in his being expelled from the National Assembly and to present himself as a victim of a witch hunt by the media and political enemies.

“I did nothing wrong. I did not break the law in any way. I did not misuse public funds,” Farage, a prominent ally of US President Donald Trump, said in a statement broadcast by his party. Media coverage was prohibited on that day’s broadcast, and he did not take any questions.

Farage is under parliamentary scrutiny for undeclared and potentially rule-breaking donations, including a 5 million pound ($6.7 million) gift he received from a Thailand-based cryptocurrency billionaire. If misconduct is found, Farage could be suspended or expelled from parliament. But he made the first move by triggering an election for Clacton, a seaside seat in eastern England.

“The people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions,” Farage said. “This election will be a by-election between the people and vested interests.”

And he said, “I will fight to win.”

Farage comfortably defeated Claxon in the 2024 election, taking 46.2% of the vote and is likely to win re-election. Especially since he could run virtually unopposed. The ruling Labor Party and the opposition Conservative and Liberal Democratic Party both announced that they would not run candidates.

Labor Prime Minister Keir Starmer called Farage’s announcement a “desperate action” from a man who was “vulgar down to his neck.” Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said his party would not stand as a candidate in the sham by-election Farage is trying to distract people from.

Reform UK has said it is willing to pay for the by-election, which could deflect claims it is wasting taxpayers’ money.

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Gambling will only postpone Farage’s problems. Even if he wins, the baseline investigation is likely to be reopened. The Guardian reported on Tuesday that bankers with knowledge of the deal had reported the £5 million donation to the National Crime Agency as potentially laundered funds.

The Criminal Investigations Department said it did not confirm or deny receipt of confidential financial ‘suspicious activity reports’.

Farage tipped by some as future Prime Minister

The investigation into Farage’s finances has sparked speculation about the future of the politician seen as most likely to become prime minister after the next general election.

One of the most prominent and controversial figures in British politics, Farage has wielded enormous influence as an advocate of leaving the European Union and an enemy of mass immigration. He played a key role in securing the ‘Leave’ side’s victory in the 2016 EU membership referendum.

His rise is reminiscent of Trump’s nationalist, anti-immigrant playbook. Farage has capitalized on concerns about migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats, calling it an invasion and claiming white people are being discriminated against by police.

He also lashed out at the “establishment” and the media, which he claimed were using “corrupt means” to stop him.

Farage, a skilled communicator who is seen by supporters as a mediocre beer-drinking orator and critics as a populist demagogue, has had a tumultuous political career and was only elected to parliament in 2024 after seven failed attempts. Farage also has a history of stepping down from political parties he has led over the past decade, including stepping down from the UK Independence Party and its successor, the Brexit Party.

Reform UK holds just eight of the 650 seats in the House of Commons but is consistently ahead in opinion polls over the ruling Labor Party and the main opposition Conservatives.

Farage’s party won big in May’s local elections, which led to the ouster of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor party.

But Reform UK has lost three successive by-elections it had hoped to win, which could be a sign that its support is waning. The most recent loss was to Labor’s Andy Burnham, who is expected to succeed Starmer as prime minister within weeks.

Donors include cryptocurrency billionaires and fraudsters.

Parliamentary standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg is investigating a £5 million donation to Farage by British businessman Christopher Harborne, who lives in Thailand. Farage said the money was a personal gift he used to fund security before he was elected to the House of Commons.

British rules require newly elected members of parliament to declare gifts worth more than 300 pounds ($400) received in the past 12 months, excluding gifts “that could not reasonably be thought by another person” to be related to political activity.

Farage is also facing questions over claims reported by the Sunday Times about his financial ties to George Cottrell, an aristocratic cryptocurrency gambling entrepreneur, convicted fraudster and on-and-off aide to the British reform leader.

Cottrell was arrested in 2016 while traveling with Farage at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport on charges that he offered to launder money for an undercover agent posing as a drug trafficker. Charged with 21 counts of money laundering, fraud, racketeering and extortion, he pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and admitted attempting to defraud criminals on the dark web by posing as a money launderer. He served eight months in prison.

Cottrell, 32, remains friendly with Farage, with The Sunday Times saying he had provided the politician with money for staffing and security ahead of the 2024 UK general election, as well as the use of his London townhouse near Buckingham Palace.

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